As forest fires become more common — in California, in particular — it has been easy to point to climate change and severe drought conditions as the main reasons. Researchers, though, say that the human element may play just as an important role to the troubling trend.

Twelve years ago, marine biologist Nancy Caruso and a group of students and volunteer divers began restoring the kelp forests off the coast of Orange County, California. In August 2014, when huge mounds of the giant seaweed started piling up on Laguna Beach — to the consternation of tourists and beach-goers — Caruso knew the project had succeeded.

Well-tended lawns and the sound of leaf blowers have a lot to do with California's immigrant roots, and not just ones that stretch south into Latin America. The history of garden work in California stretches further back to the state's striving Japanese immigrant community.

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Updated

10/23/2013 - 4:00pm

David Tran, the man who created Huy Fong Foods' Sriracha, has never advertised his hot sauce. Yet, that ubiquitous red bottle with the green cap can be seen in restaurants across the US. How'd it get so hot?

It's rare to see an Asian gun club. Most gun owners in the US are white males. Yet Filipino immigrants in the Norco Running Gun Club of California say guns are part of Filipino culture, and part of the intertwined history of the Philippines and the US.

Ever heard of Sing Peak in Yosemite National Park? Turns out, it has nothing to do with music. It honors the park's Chinese immigrant past — and an amazing backcountry chef named Tie Sing. A park ranger at Yosemite did some digging and unearthed the hidden history of Sing and the immigrants who helped create the park we know today.

Well-tended lawns and the sound of leaf blowers have a lot to do with California's immigrant roots, and not just ones that stretch south into Latin America. The history of garden work in California stretches further back to the state's striving Japanese immigrant community.

It may seem hard to believe, but Toyota almost didn't make it in the US. Its first car, the Toyopet Crown, was a flop. Toyota helped establish a huge Japanese-American community in Torrance, California that finds it hard to imagine the company is moving on.

English singer-songwriter Morrissey has a staunchly loyal and maybe obsessive fan base. His shows are defined by audience members throwing themselves on stage, clamoring to hug him. But Morrissey's most loyal disciples come from a seemingly unexpected group — young Mexican Americans.

Updated

02/11/2014 - 12:45pm

For 30 years, a variety show has helped Vietnamese expatriates remember the past and pass down their culture and anti-communist politics. Part comedy and part musical extravaganza, the show has become a family tradition for many Vietnamese around the world.

There’s a crisis on the farms of America: Young people don’t want to work there. Agriculture experts are well aware of this. One strategy is to reach out to low-income, minority students, often immigrants in urban areas, grooming them to someday run the farm.

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